Category: Blog

Your good old-fashioned blog, It’s where I reflect on (but not exactly “review”) a variety of movies and where I post my thoughts on different issues as it seems necessary.

Series on the Mass # 4

Posted on by Father Albert
     If the Mass is so great, how do we get people to come? Why do so many people not enjoy it? Worthwhile questions. As I touched on in the homily, simply inviting people to come to Mass with you usually isn’t enough. If a liturgy is done well, a visitor might see that it’s important to us. They can see that it is full of meaning and symbolism and they might get something out of the prayers and preaching. Still, the heart of the Mass — the Eucharist — is a profound mystery that takes mature faith. It’s not...Read More

Series on the Mass # 3

Posted on by Father Albert
     As we learned last week, the celebration of the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of the Christian life. All things in the universe come from God and are meant to return to God: source and summit. Since the Eucharist is God Himself, it makes sense that our lives follow this same cosmic pattern with the Mass.      But, the Eucharist is not everything in between. Between our creation and Heaven there is a real journey with choices that matter. The Mass is the “source” of the Christian life because it feeds us with God’s Word and the Body...Read More

Series on the Mass #2

Posted on by Father Albert
Putting effort into our worship is clearly important. God deserves the best we can give, so it’s hard to argue with that. That’s not to say that we should be afraid that what we have to offer isn’t good enough. He knows our weaknesses and limitations. The standard of “effort” for God is not some arbitrary benchmark or standard-ized test. His standard, in all things, is love. A beautiful liturgy performed by hypocrites means very little to God in comparison to a messy one performed by saints. At the same time, if a person claims they are trying hard but...Read More

Series on the Mass #1

Posted on by Father Albert
I know I talk about Mass a lot. Don’t worry, it’s not going to be the only thing I ever focus on. It’s just the first step in a larger plan. I do want to build community, do outreach, and have some fun too! But, it’s important to maintain priorities. I want to start by building up our understanding of and participation in the worship of God because God comes first. With a solid core and foundation, we can expand to the many other aspects of Church life. In the fall of 2008, I had a deeper conversion and return...Read More

If I Were The Pope…

Posted on by Father Albert
Don't worry, it won't ever actually happen... Nor do I envy anyone who has to take on such a responsibility! [Disclaimer: This is not a condemnation of Pope Francis. I do not know what he knows. I am not in his position. I am not the one to judge the Pope. I readily admit these are ideas from the outside looking in, and coming from a pretty inexperienced young priest at that.] [caption id="attachment_1485" align="alignright" width="187"] ----"Crowning of Celestine V" ---- By Unknown - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3215195[/caption] But, here are some ideas I think people would welcome in response to...Read More

Pride, Prejudice… and Eunuchs?

Posted on by Father Albert
So June is a big month for Catholics As you may know, it is the month of the Sacred Heart.  Some of the biggest and best liturgical feasts (excepting Easter) usually happen during this month.  The Trinity, Corpus Christi, The Sacred Heart (hence the month's dedication), the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Solemnity of Sts. Peter & Paul (June 29), not to mention a whole host of other great early Church saints.  It is also the month during which most priests (like me!) are ordained, at least in the U.S.  On top of that, it is typically the most...Read More

God Made You That Way? Pope Francis on Being Gay

Posted on by Father Albert
What happened? According to multiple news reports, Pope Francis told a gay Chilean man that God "Juan Carlos, I don’t care about you being gay. God made you that way and loves you as you are and I don’t mind. The pope loves you as you are..." To no one's surprise, this has gotten a lot of attention. Some people are cheering it, some are worried sick, and a good many are probably a just confused. What's the problem? The Catholic Church has always taught that homosexual acts (and, by extension, same-sex unions) are always sinful. But, if God "made...Read More

Pope Francis Endorses Albert the Ordinary!

Posted on by Father Albert
Okay, that title was kind of click-bait [caption id="attachment_1157" align="alignright" width="161"] "Thumbs up to Albert the Ordinary!" 1[/caption] But, it a very real sense it is true. When I created "Albert the Ordinary," I did not know that Pope Francis was planning to write a whole 44 page exhortation on ordinary holiness, but he did! On the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the Vatican released Gaudete et Exsultate: On The Call To Holiness In Today's World. In essence, the whole point of the document is to tell the whole world, all those ordinary people out there, that they too can and...Read More

Netflix or Nothing: Our Need for the Void

Posted on by Father Albert
Netflix is the Devil! Is that a startling enough headline for you?  I'm exaggerating, of course, but only by a little. [caption id="attachment_1783" align="alignright" width="225"] Where are the horns?[/caption] Personally, it's easy for me to lose hours upon hours to Netflix or other similar streaming services.  Even when there wasn't a show that got me excited, I would come back like the bored man to his fridge.  I know what's in the fridge - I've basically memorized it - but I'm still hungry, so I'll close the door for a while, sink further into boredom-hunger and then lower my standards...Read More

Catholics, Yoga, and Words

Posted on by Father Albert
You know, words are a funny thing.  That's important to remember when we ask this question because, I think, much of the problem will come down to what we mean by the word "yoga."  I can't speak for other languages and cultures, but American English at least has a pretty nasty track record of dragging words through a while bunch of meanings before leaving them, muddy and muddled, with a definition that was really better served by a word that already existed.  "Gentleman" is one famous example, the word "gay" is another.  My point here is that "yoga" might well...Read More